Tuesday, April 12, 2011

TIRE GARDENING , , FIGURING IT OUT!

Today, as I was struggling with my little tools, OK, not so little, I realized that some people might not always know what I am taking about.  So I have some more little pointers to share tonight
Tire with steel belted side wall.

First I will share a few pictures of the tools that have worked for me.   Since the steel belts ate up the blade on the jig saw, I drilled several holes in it.



JIG SAW









To join them and make slot long enough for the saws-all  blade to fit through, I cut through them with the jig saw.

When I fit the saws-all blade through the slot, I had to ease it in to keep from bending it.  A bent blade makes it hard to control the piece being cut.

 




I don't know if they all have adjustable handles, but his one does.  I have always used it with the handle bent down, but when I straightened it today, I could put more pressure against it and cut through the tire faster.  I finally figured out how to keep the plate (that the blade goes through)  resting on the tire to avoid vibration.  Makes it so much easier to get the job done!


Next I turned it around so that instead of pulling it so that it was coming toward me, I was pushing against it.  I could line it up and cut straighter and cut much faster!  I was able to remove the side wall from a big tire, truck sized, in less than 10 minutes.

I hope that these tips will be a help to those who want to garden and have limited resources.

In a couple of days I will be picking up a load of good garden mix.  It will be 1/3 native soil, 1/3 manure and 1/3 sand.  I will also be picking up some good quality compost to mix in.

More soon, I hope!